How to make a Lips and Lashes cake

I’m so excited to be sharing this tutorial with you today! When I first made this lips and lashes cake and shared it online a few months back, it received lots of wonderful feedback and so many of you asked questions about the design. Thankfully I took lots of step by step photos along the way and I’m thrilled to share all the details with you in this tutorial. 

Let’s get started!

Since the bow will need a day or so to dry, we’ll start with that first.

The Bow

Take the end of the loop (with the cut edge) and fold it over and back, creating a pleat. Add a little sugar glue to secure the pleats together. 

To ensure the bow loop doesn’t droop or dry flat, it needs propping up. Roll up a little paper towel and insert it in the bow loop as shown below.

On the outer edge of the bow, use your finger to gently press the fondant in slightly – the aim is to make a little dent in the sides of the bow, which creates a bit of movement.  Use your exacto knife to trim off a little of the pleat. If the pleated part is left too long, the middle section of the bow will end up too wide.

Once you’re happy with this bow loop, repeat the above process to make a second loop. Add a little sugar glue where you trimmed off the pleat and join the two loops together. Pop them aside to firm up a bit. If you move on to the next step (the middle part of the bow) while it’s still too soft or the glue hasn’t had a chance to dry, it will make attaching the middle part of the bow more difficult.

For the middle part of the bow, roll a thin rectangle of fondant approx. 7cm long x 2cm wide. Fold the strip in half and then over to make some pleats. 

Add a little sugar glue to the back of the strip and wrap it around the middle of the bow, securing at the back. You might need to trim a little bit of the strip to make it fit nicely. Flip it back over and use the end of your paintbrush (or your finger) to gently position the middle part of the bow. Pop it aside while you work on the tails.

For the tails, cut them the same width as the bow, so 3.5cm wide and mine are approx. 6cm long. Cut a triangle out of one end and at the other end, create some pleats and secure them with sugar glue. 

Before the bow tails dry, use your finger to press down on top of the pleat, making it flatter (shown below). This will make it easier to attach the tails to the rest of the bow later. Roll up some paper towel and pop it under the tails to create movement. You can curl up the ends like I did too if you wish. Pop the tails aside to dry. 

Once the bow loops and tails are completely dry, apply a little royal icing to the part of the pleats that you flattened with your finger (in the above step). It’s up to you where you position the bow tails. You could have them both facing down, or one up and one down like mine. Position the tails underneath the middle of the bow. Once you’re happy with how it looks, pop it aside for the royal icing the dry. You can try sugar glue to hold the bow together, but I find that royal icing dries much quicker and is more sturdy.

I used a pre-packaged royal icing for this cake – the one where you just add water and a dash of lemon juice. With regards to the consistency for the drip, it can be a bit of trial and error. I started off with medium peaks and then practiced on the side of a glass first before applying it to the cake.

TIP! If you find the drips too runny, you can add a little more icing sugar to your mix (if you’re making your royal icing from scratch), or if the icing is too firm and not flowing properly, add a dash of water. Once you’re happy with how it looks on the side of a glass, then you can move on to the cake.

A mini squeeze bottle gives me greater control with the placement and length of the drips. If you don’t have access to a squeeze bottle, feel free to use a spoon or whatever you usually use for drip cakes.

Add some of the white royal icing into the squeeze bottle. Position the bottle over the edge of the 3″ cake (top tier) and squeeze out a little of the royal icing. Follow around the rim of the cake for a few centimetres; when you want to create a drip, squeeze out the royal icing allowing it to drip down the side of the cake. When you’re happy with the length of the drip, stop squeezing and gently pull the bottle away. Continue to go around the edge of the cake, creating drips every few centimentres. It’s best not to make the drips too close to each other at this stage as we still have to add the pink drips in-between these ones.

Once you’ve gone all around the cake with the white royal icing, add the pink royal icing to a squeeze bottle. Position the bottle over the rim again and squeeze out royal icing along the edge. This time however, you want to create drips in-between the white drips. Continue around the rim making drips until you’re back where you started.

Using a spoon, take some pink royal icing and apply it to the top of the cake – start in the centre and add a little more, encouraging the icing out to the edges. You’ve already created the drips, so you want this icing contained within the boundary you created in the above steps. Remove any bubbles in the royal icing with a toothpick. Pop this top tier aside and allow the royal icing to completely dry (I left mine to dry overnight).

Once the royal icing is dry, it’s time to paint the white drips gold. Mix together some Rolkem Super Gold powder with the rose spirit/vodka (or use your alternative gold paint). It’s hard to measure exactly how much you’ll need, but you’re looking for a consistency that is easy to paint with and gives good coverage. Use a fine paintbrush to paint all the white drips (the ones in between the pink drips) – slow and steady wins the race here, it’s easy to get distracted and make a boo-boo. If you do go off course, use a clean paintbrush with rose spirit to remove the gold. My gold paint was a good consistency and the drips needed just one coat of paint.

Tip! If the gold paint is too thin and you’re finding it goes on quite see-through, add some more Rolkem gold and mix it in. If the paint is too thick or has started to clump, add a little more rose spirit/vodka. 

Lashes

I wanted these lashes to have lots of volume and to be a real feature of the cake – it is a lips and lashes cake after all! So rather than just drawing them on with edible pen or creating a set of flat 2D lashes, we’re going to make each and every lash out of fondant. I promise it’s not too tedious and the end result will be worth it!

Now, the size of your lashes will depend on the size of your bottom tier. This is a 6″ round x 6″ high cake. So what I did was take a piece of baking paper and draw a quick template for the cake. Since my drawing skills are pretty terrible, I hopped on to Google, typed in “Double Barrel Cake Template” and found a suitable cake that I could trace. Don’t worry if it’s not a proper template, you can use any picture there (even if it’s a real cake). I saved the picture to my desktop on the computer and then placed the baking paper over the computer screen and lightly traced it with a pencil.

So now you have the cake template, you can work out how big you want your lashes and check that they will be in proportion to the bottom tier. I hopped over to Google again, this time typing in “eyelashes template”. Lots of lovely lashes will appear. You’re looking for a set of lashes where the eyes are closed (unless you want them open, that could work too) and the lashes are quite thick and luscious. Once you settle on your lashes, save that picture to the desktop. Go over to the saved picture and click on it, and zoom in to make the lashes bigger if you need to. Take your piece of baking paper with the cake template and place it over the computer screen. You’ll be able to see through the baking paper and decide if those are the right size lashes for your cake. If they’re too big, then zoom out of the picture a little. If they’re too small, then zoom in a little. Once you’re happy, trace the lashes onto to the cake with the pencil. Here I went over the pencil with a black pen so you could see it properly.

Now you have a template to make your lashes!

Take a small ball of black fondant and dip it into the tylose/cmc powder. Mix in the powder that sticks to it. Roll the fondant into a thin sausage shape. Taper each end a little so it comes to a point. Take your lashes template and place the black fondant on top. The template will show you the curve required and how long to make the sausage. One you’ve made one side, then create a sausage shape for the other. You will now have two curved sausage pieces. 

To make the individual lashes, take tiny bits of black fondant and roll them into sausage shapes. Taper off one end so it comes to a point. These pointy ends will form the front of the lashes – the other end of the lash will be glued to the underside of the curved sausage. Use the template again for the positioning and length of the individual lashes. I found it easier to roll out all the lashes and line them up on the template, ready for the next bit. Trim off any excess from the top.

I found it easier to attach the lashes while they were still quite soft and pliable. Once they had dried, they became much more fragile and brittle. To attach the lashes, keep them in position on your template. Add some sugar glue along the back of the curved sausage you made before. Take the curved sausage and place it on the very top of the lashes, using the template as a guide for the curve. Use your finger to press down gently so all the lashes underneath stick. If a couple of them don’t stick, just apply some sugar glue to those individual lashes and re-attach them. 

Once all the lashes have been applied, roll up some paper towel and place it under the lashes to proper them up and prevent them from drooping.

Repeat the above steps for the other eye. Pop the lashes aside ready for assembly.

Lips

Using your paintbrush, apply some cornflour to the lips mould. Give the lips a good going over with the brush to ensure the fondant won’t stick.

Take a small ball of pink fondant (the same colour as the bow) and press it into the tylose/cmc powder. Knead in the powder that sticks to it and incorporate it in well. I like to use just enough fondant to fill the mould, that way you don’t need to cut off any excess.

The lips should come out of the mould easily. If they don’t you can brush on a little more cornflour in the mould and try again – if it continues to stick, you can pop the lips mould with the fondant in the freezer for 10 mins. It should pop out easily then.

I found with this mould, the top lip had a quite a pronounced ridge – I used my finger to smooth over the ridge, giving it a more softer appearance. It’s up to you if you want to leave them as is or smooth them over.

Pop them aside for a minute while we assemble the rest of the cake. We don’t want the lips drying too much because we need to attach them to the side of the cake, so make sure they’re still slightly pliable for assembly.

Assembly

Start off by attaching the 3″ tier on top of the 6″ tier. To do this I add a small dollop of royal icing on top of the 6″ cake (in the centre). Take the 3″ tier and position it on top, making sure it’s centred. (Ensure the top 3″ tier has a thin cardboard cake board underneath it, that way it will be more stable and royal icing will not come into contact with the cake).

To attach the bow, first work out where you would like it positioned. When you’re happy with the placement, add a small dollop of royal icing to the back of the bow (in the centre). Attach it to the cake, holding it in place for a few minutes or until it is secure. 

Take your lashes (gently!) and hold them up to the cake. When you’re happy with their position you can use an edible black marker to make a tiny dot on the cake so you know where to attach them. Apply a thin layer of royal icing to the back of the lashes, along the curved sausage part. Hold it in place on the cake until it’s secure. Repeat with the other side. 

Take the lips and hold them up to the cake to work out where you’d like them positioned. You can add a tiny black dot on the cake with an edible pen so you remember where to attach it. Add a small amount of sugar glue to the back of the lips and hold them on the cake until they’re secure.

And now…..you can stand back and admire your masterpiece!! I hope all the components came together for you and you’re pleased with how the cake looks. 

Feel free to share your creation on my Facebook page or use the hashtag #lipsandlashescake so I can check it out.

Did you find the tutorial easy to follow? I’d love for you to share your thoughts or questions in the comments below. 

If you’re looking for a tasty mud cake recipe that holds up well under fondant, head over to my Dark Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe post. This is one of my favourite recipes to use under fondant. 

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